Romeo and Juliet: Strength Becomes Weakness

Summary: The characters of Romeo and Juliet exemplify the admirable qualities of beauty, passion, and loyalty. However, these same attributes consequently develop into appearance-based, irrational, and rebellious traits.

Beauty, passion, and loyalty are seemingly superior qualities to find in a person. Although these may become unexpectedly harmful, William Shakespeare's legendary play of Romeo and Juliet proves this to be true. The characters of Romeo and Juliet exemplify the admirable qualities of beauty, passion, and loyalty. However, these same attributes consequently develop into appearance-based, irrational, and rebellious traits.

Physical appearance is what many people base their relationships on. It is almost guaranteed that a person who is physically attractive will be admired by many. Some may consider beauty a blessing, but when used incorrectly it can cause serious damage. An appearance-based relationship is the result of Romeo and Juliet's physical attractiveness to each other. Juliet, based on the nurse's evaluation, is the "prettiest babe" (Shakespeare, William 1.3.64) that she has nursed. The comments from Mercutio about Romeo make him appear to be attractive as...